ALL THE KING’S MEN 85 The Governor’s Attorney General, who oversees enforcing law in the state, tries to persuade Willie to do the right thing, especially since White is guilty. Willie’s response is revealing. “My God, you talk like Byram was human! He’s a thing! You don’t prosecute an adding machine if a spring goes bust and makes a mistake. You fix it.” By comparing White to an inanimate object, and then treating him as such throughout the process, Stark shows that White’s only value is what he can do for “The Boss.” White survives, but then Stark himself is threatened with his own investigation and impeachment. He wins this conflict because Willie and his cronies, like Jack Burden, have spent years searching for embarrassing or damaging information on potential enemies. Stark threatens to publicize every speck of dirt. Shady business deals, illicit affairs, and bad habits are dragged near the spotlight, so Willie can put the matter simply to his foes: “’This is your last chance…do you know what I can do to you?’ And he could do it, too. For he had the goods.” Willie Stark has no interest in justice, or the government systems designed to produce it. The state’s constitution allowed for impeachment as a mechanism to thwart dangerous governors. The system allowed Stark to present evidence, to counter the charges against him, and raise the support of the people. But like always, Stark is never constrained by the system. He did what was necessary to win, even if what was necessary was illegal. Laws are not all that different than rules in a game. In basketball, a player may only take two steps with the ball unless they are dribbling. A player can only spend three seconds at a time in “the lane,” a defined area around the basket. These rules should make the game fair for all the participants, and referees should enforce the rules in the same way for all the players. The rules and the referees don’t determine who wins the game, but they do define what the players may do to win. When players and referees act within the rules, the outcome of the game can be judged as fair or just. Winners can walk away sure of their victory, and losers can be confident the system worked, the game was fair, and the loss was deserved, even if painful.
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